PROTECTION OF DEEP SEA FISHERIES. 411 



As before mentioned, in the present law there is a 

 qualification of one article by another in the case of trawlers 

 damaging the gear of drifters or longliners, so in this 

 Convention, Article 1 5 on the same point is qualified by 

 Article 19. The former orders that "Boats arriving on the 

 fishing shall not either place themselves or shoot their 

 nets in such a way as to injure each other, or as to inter- 

 fere with fishermen who have already commenced their 

 operations." The latter orders that : " When trawl fisher- 

 men arrive in sight of drift-net or long-line fishermen they 

 shall take all necessary steps in order to avoid doing injury 

 to the latter. Where damage is caused the responsibility 

 shall lie on the trawlers, unless they can prove that they 

 were under stress of compulsory circumstances, or that the 

 loss did not result from their fault." Thus, if a trawler has 

 shot his gear and a drifter afterwards arrives in the same 

 locality and shoots his nets, so that there is a likelihood of 

 their becoming foul of the trawler, this latter vessel is bound 

 by Article 19 to take all necessary steps to avoid doing 

 injury to the drifter, which, in most cases, means to haul up 

 her gear, and take herself off and suffer a loss, and yet, by 

 Article 1 5, the drifter has broken the law by arriving on 

 the ground and shooting her nets in such a way as to 

 interfere with a fisherman who has already commenced 

 his operations. The protection given in Article 15 to a 

 vessel which has commenced operations holds good in the 

 case of a drifter, but in the case of a trawler it is 

 virtually withdrawn by Article 19. This is obviously 

 unjust, and open to much argument in case an action for 

 damages is brought by a drifter against a trawler. Or, 

 suppose a foul occurs in hazy weather, the question of 

 damages under Article 15 of this Convention resolves 

 itself into the time at which either vessel shot its 



